The Speed of Social Media in Tragedy

Today’s ugly, tragic Boston Marathon bombing felt as raw and visceral as the grizzly Newtown, CT school shooting or any other recent rip through our collective sense of safety, priority, and moral good.

As I sit here now however, trying to reconcile today’s losses, thanking my lucky stars that my friends and family-members nearby escaped unscathed, and searching for more information about what could have motivated such a senseless attack beyond a broad, jaundiced hatred of American freedom, culture and national pride, I can’t help but notice the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing conversation is dominated – and our country as united as ever – by the speed and reach of social media. Particularly Twitter.

A family member’s text message right at 3pm first alerted me to a trickle of local Tweets starting to swell from Copley Square about “explosions at the finish line.” Without a pause I reacted the first way that made sense: I grabbed my phone to try to reach as many people as quickly as possible, blasting out Twitter, Facebook and Google+ posts identifying the blast address and urging anyone who might see it to steer clear. I don’t know if anyone actually read it, I don’t know if Facebook’s organic reach-killing newsfeed algorithm cut circulation there to 10% of my social circle – but I took to social first to communicate something genuinely important, timely and urgent, making it discoverable to at least 1,500 people in my immediate network. In that way, maybe, just maybe, that helped someone connect with a loved one faster, get out of the blast area before the third bomb was set off in a controlled detonation by police, or respond to urgent need. Digital did all that before I could even start dialing my phone, and I wasn’t alone.

The size and speed of the Boston Marathon bombing response on Twitter

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, as I re-connected with friends and family both near and far, Twitter remained my go-to source of information, with incredible coverage from people like @BostonDotcomsports producer Steve Silva (@stevesilva) and the Globe’s social media team. And while I rarely spend more than 5 minutes a day on Facebook unless I’m pushing out an update on my startup through Hootsuite, for the past few hours I’ve been glued to the steady, focused stream of articles, encouragement, thanks and prayers that have pushed aside the usual scattering of topically-fragmented, light-hearted status updates. The rapid interconnectedness of social media has made it a global outlet for grief, and I’ve been incredibly touched by the amazing support, kindness and community on display in the face of overwhelming tragedy during such a historic, positive event.

As Kathrine Switzer, the first female marathon runner once said, “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon,” and I think also, watch how everyone’s responded to this particular marathon to check in with loved ones, keep one another safe and care for those hurt this afternoon. And, ironically, social media, a platform many typically deride as frivilous or de-humanizing, has bolstered our sense of connectivity and ability to reflect, reconcile and comment on tragedy like never before.

Nothing can undo today’s loss, so the best we can do is use it as a reminder that life is random, finite and precious, and use that as a catalyst to be better to each other, better at what we do and keep the conversations that matter going.

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